6 weeks of crate training a rescue dog - we finally turned a corner and I'm emotional

When we adopted Biscuit (3-year-old golden mix) from the shelter six weeks ago he had zero concept of a crate being a safe space. First night he cried for four straight hours and I sat on the floor next to the crate telling myself this was temporary. Week two he figured out he could throw himself at the door repeatedly and I was genuinely questioning everything.

We tried feeding him in the crate, stuffed Kongs, leaving the door open all day so he could explore on his own terms, putting a worn t-shirt of mine in there. Each thing helped a little but not enough. I almost gave up on the crate entirely and just let him sleep on the bed because I was so tired of the stress.

This week though, something shifted. He started going in on his own during the day just to rest. Yesterday I came home from work and he had voluntarily put himself in his crate - door open - and was just napping in there. I actually teared up a little. Six weeks felt like forever but seeing him choose his crate is one of the best things that's happened since we brought him home. If you're struggling with a rescue, I just want to say: keep going. It clicked later than all the timelines said it would, but it did click.